Daf Ditty Shabbes 78:

Hoopoes (/ˈhuːpuː/) are colourful found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "crown" of feathers. Three living and one extinct species are recognised, though for many years all were lumped as a single species—Upupa epops.

Israeli President Shimon Peres announced that the colorful Hoopoe is officially Israel's national bird after a competition in which 155,000 Israelis cast votes. — It may not be kosher, but the Hoopoe was chosen Thursday as Israel's national bird. May 29, 2008

Rabbeinu Chananel: The blood of a “duchifas”

אְשׁוּ רָ לׇכּ ןיִקְשַׁמַּה רִ בּ בְ ﬠיִ .תיִ וּנָתּ נָבַּ ר ַ :ן םָ דּ לׇכְ ו ניִ מ ֵ י ןיִקְשַׁמ רִ בּ בְ ﬠיִ .תיִ בַּ ר יִ מִשׁ ןוֹעְ ןֶבּ לֶ א ְ רָזָﬠ :רֵמוֹא ,םָדּ יֵדְכּ לוֹחְכִל יַﬠְבּ ןִ ןִ יַﬠְבּ לוֹחְכִל יֵדְכּ ,םָדּ :רֵמוֹא רָזָﬠ ,תַחַא ןֵכֶּשׁ ןיִלֲחוֹכּ .תיִקְרַבְל יאַמוּ ?וּהְניִנ אָמְדּ אָלְגוּנְרַתְד .אָרַּבּ ןָבַּר ןוֹעְמִשׁ ןֶבּ לֵאיִלְמַגּ :רֵמוֹא םָדּ יֵדְכּ יֵדְכּ םָדּ :רֵמוֹא לֵאיִלְמַגּ ןֶבּ ןוֹעְמִשׁ ןָבַּר .אָרַּבּ אָלְגוּנְרַתְד אָמְדּ ?וּהְניִנ

We learned in the mishna: And the measure that determines liability for all other liquids is a quarter of a log. The Sages taught in a Tosefta: The measure that determines liability for carrying out blood and all types of liquids on Shabbat is a quarter of a log. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: The measure that determines liability for blood is less than that. The measure that determines liability for carrying out blood is equivalent to that which is used to apply to one eye, as one applies blood to heal a wart on the eye. The Gemara asks: And what type of blood effects this cure? The blood of a wild chicken.

Rabbeinu Chananel equates the wild chicken (lit. a hen of outside) with the “duchefas” bird.

Gittin 68b refers to this enigmatic bird: Regarding the building of the Temple and the use of the shamir worm:1

The following day Ashmedai said to them: And why doesn’t the king want me to come to him? They said to him: He ate too much and was overcome by food. Ashmedai took the brick off the other brick and placed it on the ground. The servants came and told what Ashmedai had done. He interpreted Ashmedai’s actions and said to them: This is what he said to you through this allusion: Take his food away from him.

]ףוסל אתלת י ימו יע לי הימקל לקש נק אי חשמו העברא ידימרג אדשו הימק ל"א ידכמ יכ ימ תי אוהה ארבג תיל היל ] ידהב ן אמלע אלא 'ד ידימרג אתשה היתשבכ ילוכל אמלע אלו תעבש דע תשבכד ימנ ידידלייל מ תבדד עשאו מע לכ ישכאש

At the end of three days Ashmedai came before Solomon. Ashmedai took a reed and measured four cubits [garmidei], and threw it before him. He said to Solomon: See, when that man, Solomon, dies, he will have nothing in this world except the four cubits of his

1 According to the deutero-canonical Asmodeus legend, the shamir was given to Solomon as a gift from Asmodeus, the king of demons. Another version of the story holds that a captured Asmodeus told Solomon the Shamir was entrusted to the care of a woodcock. Solomon then sends his trusted aide Benaiah on a quest to retrieve it. See Shamah, Rabbi Moshe (2009). "Cutting Stones for the Temple, the Rambam and the Shamir" (PDF). SEPHARDIC INSTITUTE. p. 3. Retrieved 17 February 2010. Was the shamir mineral, plant, or ? In an Abyssinian legend the shamir is supposed to have been a kind of wood or herb. Maimonides, however, and Rashi, considered it to be a living animal. The Talmud says that the "glance" of a living creature caused wood and stone to split. A pseudepigraphic work, the Testament of Solomon,however, regards the shamir as a green stone perhaps similar to the pitda set in the High Priest's breastplate representing the tribe of Shimon. The shamir was used by man only in the construction of the Tabernacle and the Temple. Supernatural beings created by G-d for specific functions do not exist forever. The Mishna (Sota 9:12) states that the shamir existed until the destruction of the Second Temple. Tosafot (Gittin 68a) says that the shamir existed into the Common Era. According to the Tosefta, the shamir disappeared after the destruction of the Temple, since it was no longer needed. Correspondingly, the tachash, which had been created so its skin could be used for the Tabernacle, disappeared after the Tabernacle was completed. Considered a kosher animal, the tachash was similar to a unicorn with a single horn on its head (Shabbat 28b). Another creature, the caper-spurge, shared characteristics with the shamir and was therefore mistaken for the shamir. But because the caper-surge existed into the Middle Ages (1000 CE), the rabbis argue that the two were not identical.

grave. Now you have conquered the entire world and yet you are not satisfied until you also conquer me?

ל"א אל אק יעב אנ ימ ךנ ידימ יעב אנ נביאד י הי תיבל שדקמה אקו יעבימ יל ארימש ל"א ידידל אל ריסמ יל ארשל אמיד אמיד ארשל יל ריסמ אל ידידל ל"א ארימש יל ריסמ היל אלו ביהי היל אלא אלוגנרתל ארב ןמיהמד היל היתעובשא היתעובשא היל ןמיהמד ארב אלוגנרתל אלא היל ביהי אלו היל ריסמ

Solomon said to him: I need nothing from you. I want to build the Temple and I need the shamir for this. Ashmedai said to him: The shamir was not given to me, but it was given to the angelic minister of the sea. And he gives it only to the wild rooster, also known as the dukhifat or the hoopoe, whom he trusts by the force of his oath to return it.

יאמו דבע היב יטממ היל ירוטל תילד והב בושי חנמו הל ישא אנ וטד אר עקפו ארוט טיקנמו ימ יתי ינרזיב ינליאמ ידשו דו ילא ירי ייי ינו רטעפ א םתה יוהו בושי יהו וני ןנימגרתמד רגנ ארוט ארוט רגנ ןנימגרתמד וני יהו בושי יוהו םתה

And what does the wild rooster do with it? He brings it to mountains that are not fit for habitation, and he places the shamir on the craggy rock and the mountain splits. And he takes and brings seeds of trees, throws them there, and it becomes fit for habitation. And this is why we interpret the word dukhifat as a cutter of mountains [naggar tura], i.e., the Aramaic translation of the word dukhifat in the Bible is naggar tura, cutter of mountains.

וקדב יק אנ אלוגנרתד ארב תיאד היל נב י ופחו הי יקל נ הי ז אתיגו יח יתרו יכ אתא יעב לעימל אלו יצמ לזא יא יתי ארימש ארימש יתי יא לזא יצמ אלו לעימל יעב אתא יכ יתרו יח אתיגו ז הי נ יקל הי ופחו י נב היל תיאד ארב אלוגנרתד אנ יק וקדב היבתואו ולע הי אמר היב אלק ידש הי הילקש לזא קנח הישפנ היתעובשא היתעובשא הישפנ קנח לזא הילקש הי

They investigated and found the nest of a wild rooster in which there were chicks, and he covered its nest with translucent glass. When the rooster came it wanted to enter the nest but was unable to do so. It went and brought the shamir and placed it on top to crack the glass. Solomon’s servant threw a clump of dirt at the rooster and the rooster knocked over the shamir. The man took it and the wild rooster went and strangled itself over the fact that it had not kept its oath, by not returning the shamir.

Rashi:

וקדב ק י אנ - וקדב דע יהש ו יאיקב ן ןכיה שי ןק לש תפיכוד אוהד אלוגנרת

Hoopoe nesting at Garden Monastery, Tibet

What is this bird the “duchefas”? ???????

Our first encounter is in Lev 11:19 of “things detestable to you”

and the stork, and the heron after its kinds, and the 19 טי ,תֵאְו ,הָדיִסֲחַה ,הָפָנֲאָה ;הָּניִמְל תֶאְו - .hoopoe, and the bat ַה כוּדּ ִ פי ַ ,ת אְ ו תֶ - .ףֵלַּטֲﬠָה

All winged swarming things that go upon all fours 20 כ לֹכּ ץֶרֶשׁ ,ףוֹעָה ֵלֹהַה לַﬠ - עַבְּרַא -- ץֶקֶשׁ ץֶקֶשׁ .are a detestable thing unto you ,אוּה ָ ל ֶ כ .ם ,וּ

רמא בר הדוהי ךלש הז הלושה םיגד ןמ םיה תפיכוד ודוהש תופכ נת אי ימנ יכה תפיכוד ודוהש תופכ ו והז איבהש איבהש והז ו תופכ ודוהש תפיכוד יכה מש י ר ל ב י ת ה מ ק שד דקמה תיבל רימ

Rav Yehuda says: As for the shalakh, listed as a non-kosher bird (see Leviticus 11:17), this is the bird that scoops [sholeh] fish out of the sea. The dukhifat (see Leviticus 11:19) is the bird whose comb seems bent [hodo kafut] due to its thickness. The Gemara notes: This is also taught in a baraita: The dukhifat is the bird whose comb seems bent, and this is the bird that brought the shamir to the Temple. As recounted in tractate Gittin (68b), King Solomon required a unique worm called the shamir to carve stones of the Temple, as the verse states: “There was neither hammer nor ax nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building” (I Kings 6:7).

Chullin 63a

[Based on the Munich Codex of the Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 68a-b)]2

The Temple, while it was being built, was made of whole, draft stones. Yet, hammers and axes, or any instrument wrought of iron, was not to be heard in the Temple while it was being built. – (I Kings. 6:7)

2 Codex Munich 95, copied circa 1340 CE, was selected because of its similarities with ancient Talmudic texts found in Yemen, Babylonia and elsewhere. For example, in the Yemenite Midrash HaGadol, section Piqudei, we find the story of Solomon and Ashmedai as brought down in Gittin 68a-b, no doubt copied from some early Talmudic text. There, in the story's episode, we find his pauper's) ודוק hut), as also) אבוכ sepulchre) instead of) אכוכ :the same use of words as is found in the Munich Codex, such as אחינ instead of חיינ הישפנ and , צמ י instead of יצמיא :his cloak), including common forms of spellings such as) ודנוג dish) instead of in דוק ילבבה etc. Rabbi Hai Gaon used a similar Talmudic text, as proven by his commentary on the word , הישפנ Mishnah Kelim 16:1.

For the house, when it was in building, was built of stone 7 ז ,תִיַבַּהְו וֹתֹנָבִּהְבּ -- ןֶבֶא - הָמֵלְשׁ הָמֵלְשׁ made ready at the quarry; and there was neither hammer nor ,עָסַּמ ;הָנְבִנ תוֹבָקַּמוּ ןֶזְרַגַּהְו לָכּ - axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in ְכּ יִל ,לֶזְרַב ֹל א - עַמְשִׁנ תִיַבַּבּ תִיַבַּבּ עַמְשִׁנ --.building .וֹתֹנָבִּהְבּ

Solomon inquired of the Rabbis: "How should it be constructed?"

They answered him: "There is the Naxian stone (Aramaic: shamira)3 that Moses brought for engraving the stones in the vest worn by the High Priest." He asked them: "Where can it be found?" They replied: "Bring hither demons, both male and female,[3] for they know of its whereabouts and they shall tell you."

Solomon said to Ashmodai: "I do not want from you anything. I only wish to build the Temple and stand in need of a Naxian stone."

He answered the king: "It has not been delivered unto me, but rather, unto the Prince of the Sea (Rahab?) it has been delivered. Yet, he has not given it to anybody, save unto the hoopoe bird, seeing that he is faithful in keeping his sworn oath. And what does he do with it? He takes the rare stone to those desolate mountains wherein there is no settlement of any kind and lays it on the ledge of a mountain. This is the reason his name is translated by us in the Aramaic tongue, Mountain Carpenter, (the Aramaic Targum of Onqelos on Leviticus 11:19. The ,is Nagar Tura תפיכוד Aramaic word used there for the bird which, in Hebrew, is known as the meaning "Mountain Carpenter.") seeing that he will first cleave the mountains, and bring thither seeds from other trees, and throw them therein, causing them to spring up in those places."

They searched for a nest of a hoopoe bird that had fledglings, and when they had found one, they covered the nest over with a plate of translucent glass. She then came to her nest, seeking to go inside, but could not do so. She then went off, and returned with a Naxian stone, hoping to have it laid on top of it so as to cut the glass plate. Suddenly, someone shouted at her, and she dropped the rare stone. They took it up, and soon made their way back with their find. She, meanwhile, went off and hung herself at not being able to keep her sworn oath.

Beyond the aggada cited above we are left with legends the stuff of myth (which I love) as to the connection between the king, the queen and the bird.

3 This stone is more popularly called "emery," and is mentioned by Pliny in his Natural History 36:54 (36:51). It is called by the Hebrews shamir, while the ancient Greeks gave the name smeris (a corruption of "shamir") to a powder derived from this very stone. Emery is a stone made-up of impure corundum (aluminum oxide, or alumina) as the main aggregate, along with diaspore, gibbsite, margarite, chloritoid and sillimanite. It is much used as an abrasive or polishing material. It has the appearance of iron ore. Formerly, it was found on the island of Naxos, and was chiefly used in cutting marble. First, the stone was crushed into a fine powder-like substance and cutting wheels were then coated with the powder by consolidating the powdered material with a bonding medium. In this way, by running the wheels to and fro over thinly traced lines marked in the marble, the marble could be cut without the aid of any iron instrument. (Tosefta Sotah 15:1 brings down an anecdote in the name of Rabbi Yehudah on its usage in Israel long ago. The stone, he says, was wrapped in woollen fibres and laid up within a cane-like tube made of lead, while the space between was filled up with whole bran of barley.)

Birds have a special role in world mythology, Birds in mythology sometimes have the ability to speak. These talking birds, often sources of wisdom, may be deities in bird form or simply messengers of the deities. Either way, their advice is generally sound, and humans ignore it at their peril.

Birds warn of dangers ahead, reveal secrets, and guide heroes and travelers on their way.

Solomon and Sheba4

King Solomon could answer any question. He could solve any problem. Even talked about his wisdom. They flew all the way to Africa, telling everyone, "King Solomon is the wisest man in the world!" They even told the Queen of , who was also very wise. Some say she was the wisest woman in the world.

4 The Wisdom Bird: A Tale of Solomon and Sheba Hardcover – September 1, 2000 by Sheldon Oberman (Author), Neil Waldman (Illustrator)

And when the heard of the 1 א מוּ ַ ְ ל ַ כּ ת - ,אָבְשׁ תַﬠַמֹשׁ תֶא - עַמֵשׁ הֹמְשׁ -- םֵשְׁל ;הָוהְי ;הָוהְי םֵשְׁל fame of Solomon because of the name of the אֹבָתַּו ,וֹתֹסַּנְל .תוֹדיִחְבּ ,וֹתֹסַּנְל אֹבָתַּו LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

And she came to Jerusalem with a very 2 ב אֹבָתַּו ,הָמְַלָשׁוּרְי לִיַחְבּ דֵבָכּ ,דֹאְמ םיִלַּמְגּ םיִאְשֹׂנ םיִאְשֹׂנ םיִלַּמְגּ ,דֹאְמ דֵבָכּ לִיַחְבּ ,הָמְַלָשׁוּרְי אֹבָתַּו great train, with camels that bore spices and םיִמָשְׂבּ בָהָזְו בַר - ,דֹאְמ ןֶבֶאְו ;הָרָקְי ,אֹבָתַּו לֶא - ,הֹמְשׁ ,הֹמְשׁ gold very much, and precious stones; and רֵבַּדְתַּו ,ויָלֵא תֵא לָכּ - רֶשֲׁא יָה הָ םִﬠ - .הָּבָבְל when she was come to Solomon, she spoke with him of all that was in her heart.

;And Solomon told her all her questions 3 ג דֶגַּיַּו - הָּל ,הֹמְשׁ תֶא - לָכּ - :ָהיֶרָבְדּ ֹל א - הָיָה רָבָד םָלְﬠֶנ םָלְﬠֶנ רָבָד הָיָה there was not any thing hid from the king ןִמ - ,ֶלֶמַּה רֶשֲׁא אֹל דיִגִּה .הָּל דיִגִּה אֹל רֶשֲׁא ,ֶלֶמַּה which he told her not.

And when the queen of Sheba had seen all 4 ד ,אֶרֵתַּו תַכְּלַמ - ,אָבְשׁ ,תֵא לָכּ - תַמְכָח ;הֹמְשׁ יַבַּהְו ,תִ ,תִ יַבַּהְו ;הֹמְשׁ תַמְכָח the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that רֶשֲׁא .הָנָבּ רֶשֲׁא he had built,

and the food of his table, and the sitting of 5 ה מוּ כֲאַ לַ לֻשׁ וֹנָחְ בַשׁוֹמוּ בֲﬠ דָ ויָ מוּ מֲﬠַ דַ רָשְׁ מ תְ וָ וָ תְ רָשְׁ מ דַ מֲﬠַ מוּ ויָ דָ בֲﬠ בַשׁוֹמוּ וֹנָחְ לֻשׁ לַ כֲאַ מוּ his servants, and the attendance of his מוּ לַ ,םֶהיֵשֻׁבְּ מוּ ,ויָקְשַׁ ,וֹתָלֹעְ ו רֶשֲׁא הֶלֲﬠַ י תיֵ בּ והְ י ;הָ אֹלְ ו - ministers, and their apparel, and his ָה הָי הָּב ,דוֹע .ַחוּר ,דוֹע הָּב הָי cupbearers, and his burnt-offering which he offered in the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her.

And she said to the king: 'It was a true 6 ו ,רֶמאֹתַּו לֶא - ,ֶלֶמַּה ֶמֱא ת יָ ה הָ דַּ ה בָ ,רָ רֶשֲׁא מָשׁ ﬠַ תְּ יִ יִ תְּ ﬠַ מָשׁ רֶשֲׁא ,רָ בָ דַּ ה הָ יָ ה ת report that I heard in mine own land of thine יִצְרַאְבּ -- לַﬠ - ,יֶרָבְדּ לַﬠְו - .ֶתָמְכָח acts, and of thy wisdom.

Howbeit I believed not the words, until I 7 ז אֹלְו - יִתְּנַמֱאֶה ,םיִרָבְדַּל דַﬠ רֶשֲׁא - יִתאָבּ ִתַּו הָניֶאְר ,יַניֵﬠ ,יַניֵﬠ הָניֶאְר ,came, and mine eyes had seen it; and, behold הֵנִּהְו אֹל - גֻּה דַ - ,יִל :יִצֵחַה סוֹה פַ תְּ ָ כָ ח מְ הָ ,בוֹטָ ו לֶ א - the half was not told me; thou hast wisdom ַה הָﬠוּמְשּׁ רֶשֲׁא .יִתְּﬠָמָשׁ רֶשֲׁא הָﬠוּמְשּׁ and prosperity exceeding the fame which I heard.

Happy are thy men, happy are these thy 8 ח יֵרְשַׁא ,יֶשָׁנֲא יֵרְשַׁא יֶדָבֲﬠ ,הֶלֵּא םיִדְמֹעָה יֶנָפְל יֶנָפְל םיִדְמֹעָה ,הֶלֵּא יֶדָבֲﬠ יֵרְשַׁא ,יֶשָׁנֲא יֵרְשַׁא ,servants, that stand continually before thee ,דיִמָתּ םיִﬠְמֹשַּׁה תֶא - .ֶתָמְכָח and that hear thy wisdom.

I Kings 10

Sheba decides to visit King Solomon, who is known as the wisest man in the world. She challenges him to build her a palace out of bird beaks, and he accepts. All the birds in the world respond to Solomon's command to come to Jerusalem, save one, the hoopoe bird. Solomon is furious that he has not been obeyed. But the bird says he was delayed searching for three questions for which the king did not have an answer. The king is intrigued and agrees to delay the hoopoe's punishment until he has tested the bird's riddles. He answers them all correctly, but he finds that each answer causes him to reflect upon his actions. His urge to fulfill Sheba's request has caused him to forget his wisdom. He overcomes his pride to realize that his true power will be found in resisting his own impulses. Solomon realizes that he must respect the needs of others - the birds - to set an example for others. Sheba understands and appreciates Solomon's decision. Together, they reward the hoopoe bird with a golden crown that it wears to this day. The story ends with the important lesson:

From that day on, every hoopoe bird was born with a crown of golden feathers. So it was and so it is. And so the whole world can see and understand that no matter who we are, we all have great things to learn, even from a little bird. In Greek Mythology is transformed into a Hoopoe

The most complete and extant rendering of the story of , , and Tereus can be found in Book VI of the of the Roman poet Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (43 BC – AD 17/18), where the story reaches its full development during antiquity.

According to Ovid, in the fifth year of Procne's marriage to Tereus, King of and son of Ares, she asked her husband to "Let me at Athens my dear sister see / Or let her come to Thrace, and visit me."

Tereus agreed to travel to Athens and escort her sister, Philomela, to Thrace. King Pandion of Athens, the father of Philomela and Procne, was apprehensive about letting his one remaining daughter leave his home and protection and asks Tereus to protect her as if he were her father. Tereus agrees. However, Tereus lusted for Philomela when he first saw her, and that lust grew during the course of the return voyage to Thrace.

"The Rape of Philomela by Tereus", book 6, plate 59. Engraved by Johann Wilhelm Baur for a 1703 edition of Ovid's Metamorphoses

Arriving in Thrace, he forced her to a cabin or lodge in the woods and raped her. After the assault, Tereus threatened her and advised her to keep silent. Philomela was defiant and angered Tereus. In his rage, he cut out her tongue and abandoned her in the cabin. In Ovid's Metamorphoses Philomela's defiant speech is rendered (in an 18th-century English translation) as:

Still my revenge shall take its proper time, And suit the baseness of your hellish crime. My self, abandon'd, and devoid of shame, Thro' the wide world your actions will proclaim; Or tho' I'm prison'd in this lonely den, Obscur'd, and bury'd from the sight of men, My mournful voice the pitying rocks shall move, And my complainings echo thro' the grove. Hear me, o Heav'n! and, if a God be there, Let him regard me, and accept my pray'r.

Rendered unable to speak because of her injuries, Philomela wove a tapestry (or a robe) that told her story and had it sent to Procne.

Procne was incensed and in revenge, she killed her son by Tereus, Itys (or Itylos), boiled him and served him as a meal to her husband. After Tereus ate Itys, the sisters presented him with the severed head of his son, and he became aware of their conspiracy and his cannibalistic meal. He snatched up an axe and pursued them with the intent to kill the sisters.

They fled but were almost overtaken by Tereus at Daulia in Phocis. In desperation, they prayed to the gods to be turned into birds and escape Tereus' rage and vengeance. The gods transformed Procne into a and Philomela into a nightingale. Subsequently, the gods would transform Tereus into a hoopoe.

The description of Tereus as an "epops" has generally been translated as a hoopoe (scientific name: Upupa epops).

According to Pausanias, Tereus was so remorseful for his actions against Philomela and Itys (the nature of the actions is not described) that he kills himself. Then two birds appear as the women lament his death.